Mortgage Payoff Party ideas - help! - this is BIG for us! UPDATE post #48

[QVCshopper]

I would not only celebrate, but I would have with the marching band!! That is wonderful!


And to the above poster ( and everyone else who has done this ) can you give advice? I really, really want to become better at budgeting and want to pay mine off at the very least a tad earlier.

Hi! Since I think you asked me, my husband and I paid a bit extra every month. We also applied the profit from selling our condo to the mortgage, as well as a small inheritance of about $5k, and did a 20% down payment. But, the real way we did it was we both were working at a company that gave you a partnership (aka, big bonus) once a year, and we just sent it to the mortgage like we never even saw it for a few years. Paying off the mortgage has helped us let me stay home with the kids during the day (I work part time at night).

We are thinking about moving to a bigger house, better school district, lower taxes, and shorter commute though, and we will have a $100k mortgage. But hopefully we can pay it off quickly by living very frugally. And with mortgage rates still low, we are thinking the time to move is now. Good luck with your payments!

 

[OklahomaTourist]

I would not only celebrate, but I would have with the marching band!! That is wonderful!


And to the above poster ( and everyone else who has done this ) can you give advice? I really, really want to become better at budgeting and want to pay mine off at the very least a tad earlier.

We've paid down enough such that we will be clear on our mortgage at the end of 2015 (actually it would be Feb 2016 if the memory on my spreadsheet serves), but when we get that close we'll probably just shut it down ):

For us, there were two kinds of mortgage payoffs - refinancing a 30 down to a 15, then paying the 15 off early. We did the former, and are on track to accomplish the latter. We had a 30-yr note starting in 1999 which we refi'd into a 15-year note in 2003, and are on track now to have that one paid off about 2.5 years early.

Special tricks? No, not really. Being trained in a financially conservative way, I've always loathed debt, and tried to make cars last a long time. My current Buick is 9 years old, and its predecessor was on the road for 10 years and 160K+ miles. My wife drove a used minivan for about seven years. Won't say we've not had a new car, but we haven't had as many as some - two in almost 19 years of marriage. She brought a small Ford into the mix when we married, and she drove that when she was a stay-at-home mom and the kids were little.

For us, its been about just making extra payments as much and often as we reasonably could. Did we make one every month? No, not quite, but when we had a chance to put a sizable extra chunk in, we did. For us, the mortgage rate is a miles-better effective rate on return than the paltry .5% of the credit union savings account.

We're not paid off yet, but what we've done so far at least makes the finish line a bit more visible

 

[knewton64]

.....making my mortgage payment PLUS a $100 Principle Reduction payment.


you oughta see the looks on the Bank's reps faces when I come in - PRICELESS.




On track to pay my 30-year mortgage off 9 years early!!




Lovin' this thread - IMO, let's please keep this thread alive for us who want to use it as a way of support , etc while paying down our mortages.




P.S. I even recently emailed Dave Ramsey.com & told him about my debt reduction story.
(you will even see part of it on my most recent blog listed below; I believe starting on the bottom of page 2 of it.)




T.T.F.N.

 

[fairytalelover]

I would celebrate privately without letting others know because there are so many people who are struggling. Your joy can make others feel bad about themselves and that's just not worth it.

 

[fairytalelover]

People who can't be happy for you for accomplishing a big goal like that aren't your real friends anyway. I'm all for being sensitive to the feelings of others, but it's not like you are taking out an ad in the paper or anything. If it's family & close friends who've been with you on that journey, throw that party!!!!

And, sorry... but to compare this to infertility? Talk about insensitive...

Actually she is right. It is like telling somebody you are preggo when they have not been able to conceive because they are struggling with something that you have overcome. As much as they will be happy for you it will still hurt them. It doesn't matter if it's paying off a mortgage or having a baby. People have feelings. After my miscarriage it really hurt when all my friends were having babies left and right. I was happy for them and supported them but it broke my heart. It's called being human.

 

[mrsklamc]

Actually she is right. It is like telling somebody you are preto when they have not been able to conceive because they are struggling with something that you have overcome. As much as they will be happy for you it will still hurt them. It doesn't matter if it's paying off a mortgage or having a baby. People have feelings. After my miscarriage it really hurt when all my friends were having babies left and right. I was happy for them and supported them but it broke my heart. It's called being human.

I'm struggling with infertility but it certainly doesn't bother me if anyone tells me they are pregnant. Everyone is different.

 

[eliza61]

Actually she is right. It is like telling somebody you are preggo when they have not been able to conceive because they are struggling with something that you have overcome. As much as they will be happy for you it will still hurt them. It doesn't matter if it's paying off a mortgage or having a baby. People have feelings. After my miscarriage it really hurt when all my friends were having babies left and right. I was happy for them and supported them but it broke my heart. It's called being human.

at the least it can make you feel super incompentant.

my son is on the autistic spectrum and even here it gets hard to hear and read how eveyone has super geniuses for children. Everyone's kid here are straight A honor students. They never get into trouble and they knew exactly what they wanted to be from birth, not to mention that they are super responsible with money. For once I would love to read on a college thread "my kid is not sure what he/she wants to major in'

I some times think, man I must be such a horrible mother, my kids went to disney and actually wanted to blow their money on souveneers (sp).

 

[mrsklamc]

So....is the thought that no one should ever celebrate their successes for fear of offending or hurting someone who hasn't been successful in that particular area?

 

[goofyfigment]

at the least it can make you feel super incompentant.

my son is on the autistic spectrum and even here it gets hard to hear and read how eveyone has super geniuses for children. Everyone's kid here are straight A honor students. They never get into trouble and they knew exactly what they wanted to be from birth, not to mention that they are super responsible with money. For once I would love to read on a college thread "my kid is not sure what he/she wants to major in'

I some times think, man I must be such a horrible mother, my kids went to disney and actually wanted to blow their money on souveneers (sp).

My daughter is just finishing her freshman year at LSU and changed her major several times. She originally wanted to be a veterinarian, then wanted to be a research vet and now she wants to be a conservation geneticist ( whatever that is). And I can't remember a Disney trip where she didn't blow her money on souvenirs, and we were just there over Xmas and she bought pins and stuffed animals lol.

 

[knewton64]

I would celebrate privately without letting others know because there are so many people who are struggling. Your joy can make others feel bad about themselves and that's just not worth it.

So....is the thought that no one should ever celebrate their successes for fear of offending or hurting someone who hasn't been successful in that particular area?

This is exactly my point as well. I understand about job loss, etc.
My heart goes out to those who are currently in the down points of their lives as I TOO have experienced these same kinds of issues and have prevailed over them over time; thus picking up valueable pieces of wisdom along the way in this journey of life we are all in.


And in the process, CELEBRATING my triumph over a negative issue.


What I mean by that is listed below:

------------------------------------------------------------------

What first began (December 2012) as a flippant way to put my canceled vacation money (vacation would have been in March 2013 to San Francisco) towards an alternative good use has now turned into a 2013 year of really driving down as hard and as fast my overall mortgage balance left to pay.


It hasn't been easy for me - it has been a "struggle" (SERIOUSLY) for me to do this as I come from a background of traveling every 6 months and now to be faced with this??

But hey.....for every $1 that I give the "evil" bank, analitically $4 is lowered off the overall balance of my mortgage. NOT BAD -
(the power of lowering that overall balance thus reduces your interest being charged so in turn MORE Mortgage payment (from your monthly payment) goes TOWARDS reducing that overall balance left to pay, etc)


HOWEVER,
I often look at Disboards as a way to look forward to my 9 day Disneyland vacation (December 2014) even though it is still a long ways away. Conversely, I see others "having fun" on various thread sites playing at the house that Walt built, etc....


Yet.....here I am not traveling and not going on vacation.
"Struggling" not to call CIE TOURS and book me a vacation to Great Britain (next on my bucket list) for June 2014.....


But -


I know in my heart that all my struggles (both emotional and well as logical) WILL pay off - as I am already seeing the interest being charged on my mortgage DROP significantly in just 90 short days.

ALL DUE TO MY HARD W-O-R-K .
(RRRRRRR!!!!! I REALLY WANNA PLAY but I know this IS a different kind of play). I am making financial sacrifices right and left just to maintain my focus on this objective w/o totally hurting myself logically nor emotionally even though I gotta tell ya - it ain't easy.



My short term reward for all this HARD WORK??

(You oughta see my monthly mortgage statements as I have been KNOWN to stop on by my bank twice a week (on the way home from work) and empty out whatever is in my wallet and give it to them in the form of a Principle Reduction payment)


$6 here......
$33 there........
$100 there........


very small amounts that add up over time.



ANYWHO -


My reward will be -
I will be making a SERIOUS RUN at attending the 2014 ROSE BOWL game.
Q: Ever price a ticket for that game??



and yes, I will be carrying on this overall objective atleast into January 2014.



AND YES......
Once my house mortgage balance is P.I.F. , I have no issue telling the whole dang world that my house is now all:

while also saying:
DON'T LAUGH.......IT'S PAID FOR



while I go off on either a 10-day vacation to Scotland, a DCL cruise to..... or possibly a 10 day adventure into the Maldives...........

I have no issue asking the follwing to all of you:
Q: If a vacation it is while celebrating NO MORE MORTGAGE payments, where would you go and for how long??




So Imho, the word "struggle" is just a matter of perspective - not meant as a slap against you.



Overall, GREAT THREAD - I LOVE IT!!





T.T.F.N.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

------------------------------------------------------------------

What first began (December 2012) as a flippant way to put my canceled vacation money (vacation would have been in March 2013 to San Francisco) towards an alternative good use has now turned into a 2013 year of really driving down as hard and as fast my overall mortgage balance left to pay.


It hasn't been easy for me - it has been a "struggle" (SERIOUSLY) for me to do this as I come from a background of traveling every 6 months and now to be faced with this??

But hey.....for every $1 that I give the "evil" bank, analitically $4 is lowered off the overall balance of my mortgage. NOT BAD -


HOWEVER,
I often look at Disboards as a way to look forward to my 9 day Disneyland vacation (December 2014) even though it is still a long ways away. Conversely, I see others "having fun" on various thread sites playing at the house that Walt built, etc....


Yet.....here I am not traveling and not going on vacation.
"Struggling" not to call CIE TOURS and book me a vacation to Great Britain (next on my bucket list) for June 2014.....


But -


I know in my heart that all my struggles (both emotional and well as logical) WILL pay off - as I am already seeing the interest being charged on my mortgage DROP significantly in just 90 short days.

ALL DUE TO MY HARD W-O-R-K .
(RRRRRRR!!!!! I REALLY WANNA PLAY but I know this IS a different kind of play).



My short term reward for all this HARD WORK??

(You oughta see my monthly mortgage statements as I have been KNOWN to stop on by my bank twice a week (on the way home from work) and empty out whatever is in my wallet and give it to them in the form of a Principle Reduction payment)


$6 here......
$33 there........
$100 there........


very small amounts that add up over time.



ANYWHO -


My reward will be -
I will be making a SERIOUS RUN at attending the 2014 ROSE BOWL game.
Q: Ever price a ticket for that game??



and yes, I will be carrying on this overall objective atleast into January 2014.



AND YES......
I have no issue telling the whole dang world that my house is now all:

while also saying:
DON'T LAUGH.......IT'S PAID FOR



while I go off on either a 10-day vacation to Scotland, a DCL cruise to..... or possibly a 10 day adventure into the Maldives...........

I have no issue asking the follwing to all of you:
Q: If a vacation it is while celebrating NO MORE MORTGAGE payments, where would you go and for how long??




So Imho, the word "struggle" is just a matter of perspective - not meant as a slap against you.



Overall, GREAT THREAD - I LOVE IT!!





T.T.F.N.

Really? I would hardly compare you making a choice to paydown your mortgage after giving up a vacation to someone who has been out of work and really struggling to keep their family fed, clothed, etc.
I really hope you were being facetious & I missed it.

 

[knewton64]

Really? I would hardly compare you making a choice to paydown your mortgage after giving up a vacation to someone who has been out of work and really struggling to keep their family fed, clothed, etc.
I really hope you were being facetious & I missed it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Morning!


The intent with my posting can be summed up by:

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsklamc
So....is the thought that no one should ever celebrate their successes for fear of offending or hurting someone who hasn't been successful in that particular area?
------------------------------------------



In another words,
This is exactly my point as well. I understand about job loss, etc.
My heart goes out to those who are currently in the down points of their lives as I TOO have experienced these same kinds of issues and have prevailed over them over time; thus picking up valueable pieces of wisdom along the way in this journey of life we are all in.


And in the process, CELEBRATING my triumph over a negative issue.





T.T.F.N.

 

[eyor44]

Congratulations!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Here is a great mortgage calculator that will show you how much you can save by adding an additional principle payment each month. At the bottom it will show you how much you save if you commit to put extra money down monthly. Even if its just $100 a month. Just by saving $25 a week and putting on your mtg. every month will have a big impact on the amt of interest you pay on your mtg. over the lifetime of your loan. You could be putting that money back in your pocket rather than someone elses.

http://www.hsh.com/calc-amort.html

Our motto is to put all of our Federal income tax refund on our mtg. plus the $150 a month.

Another thing have you checked the interest rates right now. Most are at 2.75% but refinancing you could save A LOT! even if you have to pay closing cost you will get that money back because you will be saving on the amt of interest you are paying. We just refinanced last month and went from paying $500 in monthly interest with a rate or 5% to only paying $235 a month with a rate of 2.75%

 

[hops&dreams]

Someone asked for tips on how to paydown your mortgage faster...

Look for the lowest interest rate. - If you're paying more than 4% right now, you should look at refinancing. Call all local banks and ask not only for their rates, but their closing costs. Also, make sure that there are no early payoff penalties with your loan. We were able to find a local bank whose closing costs are only $275 for a refinance! We've lowered our rate twice with them!

Pay extra, especially at the beginning. Make sure that the extra money that you pay goes straight toward principle. Some banks require you to write a separate check, otherwise, they apply it to your next month’s payment.

My story: We got our initial rate at 6%, but paid at least $600/month extra. Each $600 payment in the first year knocked off at least a full month’s payment at the end. After we had 20% equity, we refinanced with a local bank whose closing costs were only $275. We dropped PMI and all escrow (we can pay our own homeowners insurance and taxes). So, we went from paying principle, interest, PMI and taxes to paying principle and interest only. And the interest went from 6% to 4.5%, and we changed the term from 30 years to 15 years. These changes lowered our payment by a couple of hundred dollars a month. We continued to pay the same amount we always had, so we were paying at least $800/month straight toward principle.

In the last few months, we refinanced again. We kept the 15 year term, but since we had been so aggressive, we had paid down over 70k in principle in the 3ish years we’ve had the house, so our actual loan amount was significantly less. Couple this with the lower interest rate (2.75%), and we’ve dropped our mortgage “payment” – monthly, what’s required, so for us, that’s the minimum – to under $1000/month. We have gotten even MORE aggressive and pay at least 2.5x that amount each month. We are now on track to pay off our home before DD is in high school.

Now, if circumstances change, and DH or I lose our job, or whatever the case may be, we can go back to paying the normal $1000-ish per month and pay off the house in 15 years. But right now, we’re willing to make sacrifices to pay off our home.

DH put it to me this way… if we don’t go to Disney next winter, we can put all that $ toward the house… if we do that, we’ll take 4 months of payments off the backend of the loan. After we pay off the house, we’ll be able to afford a super deluxe Disney vacation like our last one that was 11 days, every other month!!! After he explained it that way, yeah, I was on board.

But he just got a raise this week, so Disney might be back on the table ?

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

I have enjoyed skimming through all the inspiring stories.
The fact that some folks have paid off their mortgage doesn't make me feel bad,
it helps me see that this is possible for us too~

We just refinanced earlier this month.
Our situation is unusual in that we have a farm.
We bought a home on 26 acres 15 years ago with a 20 year mortgage at 9%.
Bought adjoining 51 acres 5 months later - another mortgage.
Bought adjoining 10 acres 2 years later with a private mortgage.

Economic downturns hit rural areas loooooong before the rest of the country, especially in what once was a textile manufacturing part of the country.
We were paying a little over $1,200 a month in mortgage!!!
And it was becoming unsustainable, with kids getting older and needing braces ...

But we were able to sell the 51 acre tract to friends, who built their new home there (so now we have great neighbors )

And we combined buying another 10 acre adjoining tract with refinancing our home with a 30 year mortgage, coming out of it with 25 acres paid for mortgage free at around $900 a month.
That was 9 years ago.

Since then we paid off the private mortgage and now own 35 acres (plus spring fed pond, fencing, wells, and 2 story barns)mortgage free .

We now have a 20 year mortgage on only the house and 11 acres ( and barns, outbuildings, etc) at around 3% and are saving about $160 a month.

We are working on paying extra each month toward the principle, and beyond that we have over 100 pecan trees planted, in various levels of maturity (some producing already) for future income.

What makes me so thankful to God for his providence is that during all but the last 2 years, we really had only one income to pay for all this.
We had to be extremely tight with our pennies.

He was working and I was home schooling (still stand by that decision as some things are far more valuable than money ),
Then I was working while he was going back to school.

And now we are both working and that has been extremely helpful,
to say the least

 

[Janice B]

at the least it can make you feel super incompentant.

my son is on the autistic spectrum and even here it gets hard to hear and read how eveyone has super geniuses for children. Everyone's kid here are straight A honor students. They never get into trouble and they knew exactly what they wanted to be from birth, not to mention that they are super responsible with money. For once I would love to read on a college thread "my kid is not sure what he/she wants to major in'

I some times think, man I must be such a horrible mother, my kids went to disney and actually wanted to blow their money on souveneers (sp).

Well my son is definitely not a geniuses, he has struggled in school all his life. He did graduate grade 12, 3yrs ago and did head off to college. However he dropped out two years later cause he did not know what he wanted to do and didnt like the programs he was in (yes he tired 3 different ones). He has been working two jobs one full time and a part time job to save money. He has know decided to go back to college at the age of 21.

My DH and I did pay off our mortgage with past Dec. The one thing I can say that i have learned from this board is a lot of advise and encouragement. My Dh and where not suppose to pay our mortgage off for another 2 years but all the advise people have posted on this board over the years have given us some great ideas and we where able to pay it off early. Sometimes listen to how others do it really can help.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Someone asked for tips on how to paydown your mortgage faster...

Look for the lowest interest rate. - If you're paying more than 4% right now, you should look at refinancing. Call all local banks and ask not only for their rates, but their closing costs. Also, make sure that there are no early payoff penalties with your loan. We were able to find a local bank whose closing costs are only $275 for a refinance! We've lowered our rate twice with them!

Pay extra, especially at the beginning. Make sure that the extra money that you pay goes straight toward principle. Some banks require you to write a separate check, otherwise, they apply it to your next month’s payment.

My story: We got our initial rate at 6%, but paid at least $600/month extra. Each $600 payment in the first year knocked off at least a full month’s payment at the end. After we had 20% equity, we refinanced with a local bank whose closing costs were only $275. We dropped PMI and all escrow (we can pay our own homeowners insurance and taxes). So, we went from paying principle, interest, PMI and taxes to paying principle and interest only. And the interest went from 6% to 4.5%, and we changed the term from 30 years to 15 years. These changes lowered our payment by a couple of hundred dollars a month. We continued to pay the same amount we always had, so we were paying at least $800/month straight toward principle.

In the last few months, we refinanced again. We kept the 15 year term, but since we had been so aggressive, we had paid down over 70k in principle in the 3ish years we’ve had the house, so our actual loan amount was significantly less. Couple this with the lower interest rate (2.75%), and we’ve dropped our mortgage “payment” – monthly, what’s required, so for us, that’s the minimum – to under $1000/month. We have gotten even MORE aggressive and pay at least 2.5x that amount each month. We are now on track to pay off our home before DD is in high school.

Now, if circumstances change, and DH or I lose our job, or whatever the case may be, we can go back to paying the normal $1000-ish per month and pay off the house in 15 years. But right now, we’re willing to make sacrifices to pay off our home.

DH put it to me this way… if we don’t go to Disney next winter, we can put all that $ toward the house… if we do that, we’ll take 4 months of payments off the backend of the loan. After we pay off the house, we’ll be able to afford a super deluxe Disney vacation like our last one that was 11 days, every other month!!! After he explained it that way, yeah, I was on board.

But he just got a raise this week, so Disney might be back on the table ?

I hope you do get to go to Disney. I'm all for paying off debt/mortgage but I have to live too. I can't put my life on hold because I have a mortgage.
One thing I've learned in working in a hospital for 22 yrs: celebrate life, love & family. All are amazing gifts that can be gone in an instant.

 

[knewton64]

Well.......



Been a few months & -


1) My Bank "hates" me.

Per se, they
continue to list my 'Mortgage reduction payments' as 'reg payments.'

1a) and I continue to have them cancel said transactions and have them re-list it correctly.

continues to have me be removed from "auto Bank drafting" my monthly mortgage payments even though I never asked to be removed from this.

(SEE POSTING #16 PAGE 2 OF MY 'ADVENTURES N SAN FRAN...." BLOG LISTED IN MY SIGNATURE FOR MORE BACKGROUND ON THIS)




Anywho -


2) Had a credit card dispute with a vendor and my Bank mis-represented me back to the vendor; thus my initial claim was denied.
(SEE POSTING #41 FROM THE SAME BELOW LISTED TRIP REPORT IN MY SIGNATURE)


2a) I re-filed the claim (and won)......AND


2b) gave all the money I won to a charity; GTKTW
(it was never about the money, it was all about receiving lousy customer service)





Banks.......gotta love 'em.
Now looking at having my mortgage being paid 9 1/2 years down & lovin' every minute of it -






this is a fun thread to read & I hope it continues -
T.T.F.N.
















TTFN

 

[bianca]

First off ..... Congrats on the mortgage pay off. Just for me personally, I would never announce to anybody that my mortgage was paid off. I have waaay too many relatives that would immediately make some kind of weird connection that "now that you don't have to pay for a mortgage, can you float me a loan?"

DH and I both agreed that even if we were ever fortunate enough to win the lottery we would never tell anyone. They would all feel entitled and we would be just another footnote in the book of epic lottery fails.